Thicker Than Blood
by Stormai
Summary: AU. Shawn Hunter is the best friend of Cory Matthews. Riley Matthews is the daughter of Cory Matthews. Maya Hart is the best friend of Riley Matthews. Lucas Friar-Hunter is the adoptive son of Shawn Hunter. Family isn't only blood. In fact, it's what's on the outside that makes it thicker.


* **DO NOT OWN Taylor Swift's "Style"**

* * *

Chapter One: **Once Upon A Time In Miami**

 _You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye. And I got that red lip, classic thing that you l_ —"HEY!" Riley exclaimed after her earbuds were yanked out of her ears. She looked up to see a tall, muscular, good-looking teen hovering above her. "Oh, it's you."

The guy hovering above her had a name, and his name was Lucas Friar-Hunter. He was the adoptive son of Shawn Hunter, which made him the unofficial cousin of Riley Matthews since Shawn and Cory were unofficial brothers. Although, to make sure that they never got confused, they just called each other best friends.

"Is that the appropriate way to speak to your older best friend?" Lucas asked.

"Sorry, cutie, that title is already taken." Maya said from directly beside Riley. Both were tanning, but unfortunately Handsome had to rain on their parade.

Lucas folded his arms and looks down at Maya. "You are only older than me by one freaking day. One day, Maya! Technically, we can just say that we're the same age!" He exclaimed.

At that moment, Riley realized the way Lucas was standing over her. His legs were spread out, which gave her the opportunity to strike him below. Should she do it was the question that went through her mind. If she did it, her dad would be scolding her until she sunk into the sand. On the other hand, if she didn't do it, Lucas would continue to hover over them and aggravate as much as possible. Plus, her Uncle Shawn would just laugh about how his son got kneed in the goods.

Riley was too caught up in her thoughts that she tuned out her best friends arguing with each other. Although, that's nothing new coming from them.

"Listen, Huckleberry…" Maya used her threatening voice as she moved to stand. Soon, she was standing while still having to look up at his face. "…I'm not about to argue with you about me being one day older than you." She puts her finger on his chest. "You…" She smashes her finger in his chest every time she speaks. "…need…to…back…up…and…leave…us…city folks…A-LONE!" Maya exclaims.

"Maya, I have lived in this city as much as you have—" Lucas was then cut off by Maya.

"—yet, you still sound like a little ole' cowboy." Maya does a dance at the end.

Lucas's face turned red. "Oh, you're so going to pay for tha—" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because the throbbing sensation of his goods being smashed happens.

Lucas basically fell on top of Riley, who quickly slides from under him and runs to Maya. "RUN!" She shouted to Maya, and the two quickly make their way to the ocean.

Meanwhile, the adults were enjoying the sun from a semi-far distance.

Topanga was wearing a pink bathing suit while her hair is pushed back in place because of her sunglasses. Cory was wearing a black t-shirt after getting nasty looks from Miami citizens as they walked by and observed his lumpy stomach. He was also wearing blue trunks. Shawn, on the other hand, doesn't have a shirt on and he was wearing orange swimming trunks.

"Hey Cory, have you seen Auggie?" Topanga worryingly asked as she lets her eyes roam around the beach for contact of a little boy with green swim trunks.

Cory looked up from his book and points in the direction that Auggie went. "He's over there playing with Mitchell." He reassured his wife, and she let out a relieved sigh.

Mitchell Hunter is the biological son of Shawn Hunter, who he sees on a so-and-so basis. Due to Mitchell's mother making the decisions, she controls when Mitchell gets to see his dad. The poor 4-year old looks just like his father, without the beard of course.

"Stop worrying, Topanga." Shawn commanded. "This is the beach. Let the kids get away for a while. Let them explore. It's certainly something I would do if I was around such beautiful nature." He explained.

Cory looked up from his book again with a scared face. "Is this the real Shawn Hunter talking?" Cory asked and starts to feel on Shawn's face. He slapped him a bit, earning a growl from Shawn. "Oh god…" Cory said then looked at his wife. Topanga chuckled. Cory shook his head and said, "Honey, I think we've lost him."

Shawn sat up and gave Cory a silly face, leading to both of the grown men in a fit of laughter.

"Looks like the kids are having fun." Topanga pointed out after seeing the girls make their way to the ocean.

Cory's teacher instincts quickly kicked in. "Wait. The girls are running from something. Where's Lucas?" As soon as he asked this question, he caught Lucas kneeling on the Riley's towel holding his crotch. Cory shook his head. "Here we go again. Topanga, you seriously need to have a talk with the girls." Cory demands.

"Oh, Cory…" Shawn laughed, "You need to let them have fun."

Cory jumped up in astonishment. "How are you not upset that my baby girl and her best friend just kicked your son in Tweedledee and Tweedledumb?" Cory exclaimed. He was beyond confused. If it had been Auggie, he would have chased those girls down.

Shawn shrugged. "They didn't kick him in the cojones for nothing. He must've went over there and messed with them." Shawn explained to his over-paranoid best friend. "You know Riley or Maya—well, she could just do for no reason at all—would kick Lucas there for no reason."

Topanga reached out and placed her hand on Cory's leg. This caught Cory's attention as he turned his attention from his best friend to his wife. "Baby, it's going to be okay. If Shawn is okay with it, why can't we be?" Topanga tried to reassure Cory.

"B-but…" Cory whined like a little child. "What if Lucas gets mad because they did this? What if he goes over there and drowns them in the water? What if he hurts them because they did this?"

"I would beat him like he stole something." This was Shawn's response.

Topanga couldn't help but to laugh.

Cory also couldn't help but to laugh at how his best friend responded to it. Cory shook his head in an amusing way. "Shawny, what am I going to do with you?" It was a rhetorical question.

"I'm serious, Cory." Shawn admitted. "Lucas knows to never hurt a girl, especially those two. I raised him Cory. He's basically your second son. Even if he gets mad at them, I know that he'll never intentionally hurt them in anyway."

"Yeah, you're right." Cory agreed with Shawn. "For some odd reason, I love that boy like he's my own. Mitchell, too. They are like my little children." He turned his head to the two boys playing in the sand. "It's too bad we don't get to see him very often. " He let out a soft sigh. "Ugh, Shawny, why did you have to create a child with someone so stubborn and mean...okay, that sounded wrong but you get the point." Cory and Shawn shared a laugh.

"Riley and Auggie are like mines as well." Shawn told him. Cory put a hand on Shawn's shoulder as he looked out to the girls, who were on the edge of entering the water. They were so close to it that they could already feel it.

"Gotcha!" Lucas shouted after he grabbed Maya in one hand and Riley in the other. They squirmed in his arms like little squiggly-looking roaches, but Lucas didn't let them go. He was too strong, and the girls knew that. "There's no point in fighting. You will not leave my body until I want you to. So get comfortable looking at the ground, because it's exactly what you're going to be looking at for the rest of the day until we get ready to go to bed." Lucas sent out a warning.

"Ugh, I hate pink." Maya complained and folded her arms the best way she could.

"Oh, so you're talking about my swim trunks now?" Lucas implied. "Alright, you two have to sleep in the bed with me tonight."

"No, I hate sleeping in the bed with you." Riley whined.

"You sleep wilder than Riley." Maya claimed.

Lucas laughed. "So, as much as I've done for you guys, you wouldn't give up one night to sleep in the same bed with me." Lucas implied again.

Maya scoffed. "What have you done for us other than meddling in our business and aggravating the crap out of our minds?" Maya challenged.

"I've defended you guys so many times that I can't keep up with them." Lucas said as he slowly makes his way to their parents. "That time when that bully was texting you harsh stuff. He ended up being a dude, and I chased him down. That time when someone yanked out your blonde hair, and I found the guy responsible for it."

"Alright, fine, we basically owe you." Maya mumbled, because she really didn't want to admit it.

"There's more, though." Lucas laughed.

"We know. We know. You helped us. Hooray. Bravo. Congratulations. Do you want a cookie to go with that award?" Riley sarcastically cheered.

Lucas growled in a playful way. "Okay, now you guys have earned a seat next to me on the plane tomorrow morning when we leave for New York." He spoke.

"Nooooooooo!" Both Maya and Riley whined at the same time, while Lucas casually laughed.

"Jinx!" Both said again.

Shawn, Topanga, and Cory seen the playful teenagers coming. They were like a two feet away. Topanga laughed. "Haha, for Lucas to be carrying them like that, they must've got him really good." She said.

"Not really." Shawn disagreed. "If they hit him really good, he would have been walking really funny right now. Trust me, I know."

Both Cory and Topanga gave each other knowing looks. "Angela." Both said at the same time before Lucas with Riley and Maya showed up.

"Hey dad, guess what these two did to me?" Lucas told Shawn.

Shawn pushed his glasses up to his hair as he looked at his son's face. Lucas didn't seem mad at all. In fact, he looked happy. Shawn raised this boy right. He got custody over Lucas when Lucas was only 9 months old. Now, he's 16 heading into his sophomore year of high school. He couldn't be a prouder dad.

"Did they kick you in the gutters?" Shawn asked with a playful smile on his face. Lucas nods. Shawn looked down at the girls, who wore pleading faces. He looked up at his son, who was now hovering over him since he was still lying on his towel. "They deserve everything that's coming to them." Shawn says, earning a few 'come on's from the girls.

Topanga laughed as Lucas walks away with the girls still in his arms. "You know, Lucas is going to be a great husband one day." She claimed.

"Speaking of husbands…" Cory changed the attention from Lucas to Shawn. "Shawny, when are you going to finally settle down with someone? Lucas needs it."

Shawn let out a sigh. "Honestly, I'm not sure." He stated truthfully. "It's always been me and Lucas, you know. Mitchell comes around sometimes, but Lucas has always been a major priority. I think a woman will just throw that off track." Shawn admitted, and he's now sitting up.

"You'll never know until you try." Topanga added. "…and both of your boys should be your top priority. Not just one."

"No, no, I didn't mean to sound like that. I love Mitchell to death. It's just that Lucas has no one but me, so I focus on him a lot more." Shawn explained.

"Hey, Daddy!" Shawn could hear a little voice inching closer and closer to him. "Daddy, look what I built!" Mitchell exclaimed then points to the sandcastle he built.

Shawn smiled, "It looks great, buddy!" He tried to share the same enthusiasm as his son; it seemed to work, because Mitchell started jumping up and down kicking sand everywhere before returning to Auggie.

"Awe, he's so cute." Topanga said in awe. "Did I ever tell you that he looks exactly like you? Just without the beard and he looks so much younger—"

"Yes! Yes, you have." Shawn chuckled.

Suddenly, the wailing of sirens started to sound off.

Shawn, Topanaga, and Cory jumped in response to the sudden alarm. "What the hell..." Shawn muttered to himself.

Soon, a voice could be heard throughout the beach. "Evacuate. I repeat: Evacuate! We have just been told that high waters will engulf this whole area. I repeat: Evacuate!" The voice repeated.

Lucas finally let go of the girls before he sprinted over to Mitchell. At this point, Auggie had already ran to Cory, but Mitchell hadn't budged; he was too busy playing with his sand castle. Just as Shawn moved to stand, the knight in shining armor—Lucas—swooped over and grabbed Mitchell.

"Nooooo!" Mitchell cried.

Lucas laughed, "No, Blue."

"But Bubba..." Mitchell whined.

Blue was Lucas's nickname for Mitchell. When Mitchell was one, one day while Shawn was out mingling, Lucas was in charge of keeping an eye on Mitchell. That day, they had just got done painting one of the spare bedrooms (now Mitchell's) wall blue. Somehow, Mitchell found the blue paint, dug his hand it, and left a blue-hand trail from the moment he crawled out of the room to living room carpet AND BOY was Shawn pissed! Bubba was Mitchell's nickname for Lucas. The only explanation for this was that it's an abbreviation of 'brother'.

"Alright, is this everybody?" Cory announced as he took a look around.

"It is." Topanago answered.

Shawn returned with Riley's, Maya's, and Lucas's bags. "Wouldn't want to leave without your things, am I right?" Shawn said.

"Thanks Uncle Shawn." Maya said then grabbed her and Riley's bag.

Lucas placed Mitchell on the ground, making sure he stood right in front of him before reaching over and grabbing his own bag. "Thanks dad."

Shawn couldn't help but smile after hearing that. Lucas had always called dad since he was able to talk, but it still didn't mean that Shawn wouldn't get goosebumps over it. When he adopted Lucas at only 9 months old, Shawn began getting cold feet. The late nights and extra crying was tough for a first-time parent, but he began becoming determined in raising his little boy. He always admired Cory and Topanga, and he wanted to nurture someone into this world as honorable and loving as his best friends.

The group had already been a few feet ahead from where they were first standing. Shawn quickly snapped out of his thoughts and chases the group down.

"Ooooh, I want ice cream!" Mitchell announced as he points to the parked ice cream truck.

"Oooh, me too! Me too!" Auggie agreed. The two boys began jumping up and down while singing the ice cream song.

Shawn finally caught up with the group. "Why are we singing guys?" He said before scooping his little four year old in his hands and throwing him up in the air.

Mitchell was laughing. He always loved that tossing game.

"We want ice cream!" Auggie told his uncle. "Mom, Dad, Uncle Shawn…Can we please get ice cream?"

"Aww…he's so cute." Maya cooed. She was a softy at heart, even though she never wanted to admit it. Lucas always teased her about it. He knew how to get to her, and it worked every time.

Lucas chuckled, "You're going soft now, Hart?"

Maya rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "You always got something to say. You can never just shut up." She exclaimed as her hands make a loud smack on her legs. Shawn, Cory, and Topanga watched from their positions. It was something about their arguing that was so cute and endearing. "And you wonder why you don't have a girlfriend." That was a jab.

Riley covered her mouth so that Lucas wouldn't see her mouth drop in awe.

"Sssssss…That was cold." Shawn added. "Like, ice cold…"

Topanga swatted at Shawn. "SHAWN!" She yelled. "Stop instigating." That was what Shawn always did best…instigate.

"Wonder why I don't have a girlfriend? Please, I choose not to." Lucas told her. "Plus, you don't have a boyfriend. So, that point you were trying to make…it's invalid, because it applies to you." He explained.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Here we go with the big ole explanation. Why do you do that?" She asked.

Lucas seemed a bit confused. "Do what?"

"What do you mean? Earth to Lucas! Were you not here for this whole conversation?" Maya shouted then rolls her eyes again. She turned her head to Riley, who is still covering her mouth. "How did we become friends with this guy?" She asked.

"Best friends." Lucas corrected her.

Cory snickered.

Maya scoffed. "Best friend? More like Biggest Idiot." She said.

Lucas put a hand on his heart. "Oh Maya…That hurt me so bad." He was faking it. "I think I'm gonna go cry in the hotel for a few minutes. You really got me there." He made a crying sound.

"He's so annoying." Maya told Riley. Lucas began inching closer to them in which Maya started screaming. "Help! Help! Don't get close to me! Lucas, I'm serious. I will kick you in the balls!"

But, if anybody knew Lucas, they'd know that he didn't care. He would do it anyway.

He pulled them into a group hug, with much protest from Maya. "Ahh…I'm annoying, but you still love me." He bragged.

Riley scoffed. "As if…" She teased.

Lucas's mouth flew open in shock as he stepped back. "Wait…you're against me too. So it's 2 on 1."

Riley nodded. "It's always been 2 against 1." She told him before pulling Maya into a hug. Maya made the most teasing smile ever.

Lucas groaned then turn to Shawn, who immediately threw his hands up. Shawn had nothing to do with it, and he wanted it to stay that way. "Dad, why couldn't you have another son my age? Ugh." Shawn couldn't help but laugh at how distraught Lucas looked. The boy was acting as if his life depended on having a brother his age.

"Hey…" Shawn threw his hands up once again. "Leave me out of it."

Mitchell began to run to the left. "Ice cream! Ice cream!" He screamed. Thank God for Shawn scooping the little boy up into his arms. Mitchell was a wild one.

"No, Blue…" Lucas said as he watched Mitchell squirm in Shawn's hands.

Mitchell stuck his tongue out at Lucas. "Shut up, BooBoo." He teased instead of calling him 'Bubba'.

Everyone began to laugh.

"That's not funny." Lucas told them. They continued to laugh as Lucas's face began turning red. "That's not funny. Seriously guys, it's not funny." He whined.

Maya laughed, "Whatever you say…BooBoo!"

And once again, everyone went into a laughing fit.

 **{•••••}**

Any type of sports seem to get men to focus.

Football.

Basketball.

Soccer.

Tennis.

Etc.

As of now, only two of those present on the list and one more got Lucas to focus. The girls knew it and maybe they could use it to their advantage to slip away. All they needed to do was to get him to sit in front of the tv and let him watch. Then, sneaking away couldn't be that hard according to Riley and Maya.

But, as we all felt, they were wrong.

It earned them a sleepover at Lucas's house.

"I'm hungry. Can I please go eat?" Maya plead. Right now, Maya and Riley were sitting on either side of Lucas.

Lucas laughed. "It's funny how you guys really believe that I have so much power over you." He said and shook his head. "I thought my best friends were stronger than that. Come on, fightback…"

Maya thought about it for a minute then she shrugged. What can she lose?

She threw a punch, but Lucas dodged it. Maya threw another one, but luck is not on her side seeing that Lucas dodged it yet again. "Ugh!" Maya was starting to get frustrated. "Stop dodging my punches!"

"And let you hit me?!" Lucas exclaimed and looked at her like she just said the most idiotic thing on Earth. "No…

Maya ultimately stopped. Her hands fell to her sides. "Well then…there's no point in me trying." She surrendered.

"Awe, is little Penelope giving up?" Lucas teased.

Maya sent Lucas a glare. "Hillside boy, I suggest you shut your stupid mouth so that you can keep that pretty face of yours." Maya threatened.

"You're all talk." Lucas called Maya out. "You know what they say about people that just talk…" Lucas smirked when he saw Maya grit her teeth together. He leaned closer to her face and whispered, "They're weak."

Maya let out a growl. "Oh, you are so gonna get it now!" She screamed as she leaped towards Lucas. He could have dodged her tackle if it wasn't for Riley sitting right behind him. Lucas grunted as he flipped off the bed and hit the floor. Maya climbed on top of him before playfully punching him in his chest and stomach. Riley joined.

Lucas started to laugh. "Haha. Okay, okay." He surrendered. "I lose. You win."

"Yes!" Both of the girls cheered before they gave each other a high-five.

Riley moved to where Maya was sitting. "Now, we don't have to sleep next to Wild Bucky over here." She told Maya.

"Or sit next to him on the plane." Maya added in.

Just then, Cory made his way into the teenagers' room. "Kids, um…there seems to be a little mixup." He nervously said as he fidgeted with his shirt. He wasn't necessarily nervous about telling them; he was nervous about Maya reacting. "The lady at the front desk informed me that one of our rooms have been given to another family."

And right on cue…

Maya jumps jumped. "What?!" She shouts. "Can't they just give them another room?"

 _Hmmm_ _that_ _went_ _better_ _than_ _I_ _thought_ …he thought to himself.

Cory shook his head. "Nope. The people already paid their money, and they should be here in a few minutes." As soon as Cory finished, a knock was heard. Cory pointed at the door. "That's probably them. Get your stuff. It looks like we're all camping in one room tonight."

"Ugh…" The girls groaned as they began packing their stuff into their bags.

Lucas chuckled. "Well, it looks like you'll be sleeping with me after all."

Lucas wasn't whispering when he said that, so he earned annoyed looks from the girls. Lucas just laughed it off as he grabs his own bag, which was already packed for the morning plane. Today was their last day of their little family Summer vacation before school started in two weeks.

"Luke! Where are y—oh, there you are!" Shawn said after finding Lucas. The girls began laughing at the shaving cream that was on Shawn's face.

"Dad!" Lucas yelled, startling Shawn. Lucas runs over to Shawn and pushes him out of the room. "You stay in here with the shaving cream and the hairy stomach." Lucas told him. He felt like throwing up for some reason. "Oh, that's nasty." He added.

Lucas turned to walk away to the other room to help the girls finish packing. "You just wait until you get older!" Shawn called out. "You'll be having hair everywhere!" Shawn knew what he was doing. Embarrassing his son is one of his many talents. He enjoyed it, because Lucas was always turning angry red. It's hilarious.

"Your dad is crazy." Riley told Lucas.

Lucas blushed and looked down. "I know." He mumbled.

Maya laughed. "Awe, is your daddy embarrassing you in front of your friends?" She spoke in her baby voice.

Lucas lifted his head up to send an angry glare at Maya. "Maya, I don't know why you're talking. It's not like you'll ever experience it." Lucas secretly wished that never left his mouth. However, what was done was done. There was no going back, unless it hurt the ones he loved.

Maya felt herself tearing up, and she tried so hard to keep them from falling. "Out of all people, I would have thought that you would be the person that understood what it means to not be with your father." Her voice was breaking. She rarely cried in front of people. When she did, it had to be something big. This was considered big in her eyes.

"Maya, I'm so s—"

Maya cut Lucas off from his sentence. "Lucas, I don't want your apology. If that's what you think of me, then I'll leave you alone." She sniffed. You could see her puffy eyes, and there stood Riley: stuck in the middle between two of her best friends.

"Maya, that's not what I think at all." Lucas tried to reassure her. He shook his head. "I was just reacting too quickly to your teasing. I wasn't thinking."

"Well, you should think next time before you open your mouth to speak." Maya declared.

Lucas let out a sad sigh before he englufed Maya in his arms. She laid her head on his chest without a second to think. Every time moments like this happens, hugs always made each other forgive the other. It sounded elementary, but it certainly worked with them. It's the closure that they all have with each other.

Riley joined and laid her head on Lucas's back as she tried her best to wrap her arms around her two best friends.

"Woah! What's going on?" Cory's loud outburst pulled the three friends a part. All of them looking elsewhere, meaning that they didn't want Cory interfering with this one. He noticed this. "Hmm, okay. I'll leave you guys alone to finish your hugging." And with that, he stepped back into the room that they all will be sharing in the next thirty seconds.

Lucas turned to Maya. "You…" He pointed at her. "Are sleeping next to me tonight. You…" He turned to Riley. "Are sleeping on the other side of me. And that's final!"

"Who died and made you King?" Maya responded.

"Yeah!" Riley agreed. "What if I wanted to sleep next to Blue?"

"Blue is sleeping next to dad. And if you think I'm a wild sleeper, just wait until you sleep next to those two." Lucas laughed while amusingly shaking his head.

Maya rolled her eyes. "I doubt anyone's worse than you." She claimed.

"You're really asking for a pillow fight right now." Lucas said. He knew that the girls would not pass on a pillow fight. He should know, since he's been in almost every single one of them.

 **{•••••}**

"Have you already gone school shopping?" Maya asked Riley, while Lucas was still taking his shower.

The adults and the little ones were all asleep. Cory and Topanga shared one bed, while Auggie and Mitchell snuggled with Shawn in the other. The group of friends had the floor which wasn't much of a shocker to them. Maya and Riley had to swear on the BFFL3TO (Best Friends For Life Three Times Over) oath, claiming that they'd wait until Lucas got out of the shower before they all called it a night.

Lucas made them do it.

Riley nodded her head. "Yeah, Mom & I had a girls day before we came here. We're going again as soon as we get back. You can never have too much clothes. I'm just so happy to become a high school freshman." Riley was very ecstatic.

"I wonder if everyone from last year are coming back this year. Abigail Adam's High as a Freshman was absolutely a blast last year…" Maya said her thoughts out loud for Riley to hear.

Riley shrugged, "I don't know. Probably not." She answered. "I heard a couple of people were going to Langston High, so…" Riley shrugged again.

"Well, I certainly hope Nick is coming back." Maya said with a smile.

Riley gasped rather loudly, forcing Maya to swiftly cover Riley's mouth with her own hand. When Maya finally pulled her hand away from the brunette, she whispered…"Sorry." Riley lifted her body up to see if she woke anyone, and thankfully she didn't. She returned her focus to Maya. "Nick! As in Austin Butler look-a-like Nick?!" Riley was pretty sure she was going to pass out. "Oh my gosh, he is sooooo hot!"

Maya laughed, "Yes…that Nick."

"Nicolas Hall…" Riley was pretty much fanning herself.

"What in the hell is going on, here?" A voice was heard from the bathroom's direction. Walking towards them was the semi-naked teen, who had dripping wet hair and a scrumptious body. Unfortunately for Maya and Riley, Lucas caught them staring. "What?" He asked, looking at them with a confused face. He twirled around to see if he had anything on him.

"Huckleberry, get over here." Maya declared. Lucas just laughed before he joined the fawning girls.

Riley grabbed her comb out of her bag then opened her legs. "Come here." She gestured for Lucas to sit directly in front of her in between her legs before she began combing his wet hair backwards.

"Thanks, Riles…" Lucas said then playfully reached back to ruffle Riley's hair.

Riley gritted her teeth together then said, "Do you want your hair combed or not?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Obviously not!" She said, which prompted Lucas to stick out his tongue. "See, look at him. He's still acting like a little child."

This was the nature of these three best friends. Lucas was always the goofy and playful one, so he made it easy to rag on; he certainly didn't mind it. Maya enjoyed making fun of him, and Lucas just wanted everybody to be happy. Seeing his girls having smiles on his face made him smile. All that he ever wanted was for them to be happy. Although Maya hardly ever shows it, he knows that the girl loves him dearly. She wouldn't let anything happen to Lucas or Riley, and vice versus twice over.

"You girls ready for Sophomore year of High School?" He asked, trying to make small talk.

Maya nodded her head. "Yup."

"Or are you just ready for NICOLAS HALL!" Riley quietly exclaimed.

Lucas's eyes went wide, while Maya's cheeks turned red.

Lucas rolled his eyes and sighed, "Are you kidding me? Nick…" Lucas made a gagging noise right after, but nevertheless a smile stayed crisp on his lips.

Riley scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh? I thought you liked Nick." She said to Lucas. "Aren't you two on the basketball team?"

"So!" Lucas quietly shouted before he pulled away from Riley and her combing. He turned to look at Riley. "He's a funny dude, but…full disclosure?" Lucas looked over to Maya, who was trying hard not to make eye contact with her guy best friend. "He smells like peaches all the time."

Riley rolled her eyes. "That better than smelling like a sweaty gym sock." She argued, looking pointedly at Lucas who in return softly growled.

"I like peaches…" Maya spoke up.

Riley nodded, "Exactly. That's my nickname for her."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Fine. Go out with Mr. Peaches. I don't care." Obviously, he was lying. It's not that he had a crush on Maya, but he just wasn't ready to let her get her heart broken by anyone. He was too protective of Maya and Riley, and he would drop someone where they stood if they ever hurt those two.

Maya shifted a little after he said that. "Ooh, I got a wedgie." Maya announced and she turned to Riley. "Is it that bad?" She asked her, and Riley looked before bursting from laughter. "How bad?" Maya was completely humiliated. Why did her underwear decide to give up at the wrong time?

"Here." Lucas stood and began to pull down his shorts, only to get 'no's or 'eww's from his best friends. Lucas laughed. "I have boxers on, guys." He announced and slipped off his shorts before giving them to Maya. "Now you can never say that I never did anything for you."

Maya smiled. "Thanks Huckleberry."

"Ugh, when are you going to give up on that stupid nickname?" Lucas responded.

"Never." Maya claimed.

Riley yawned. "Oh, gosh. I never knew how tired I was." Riley said then lied back onto the pallet that they've made on the floor.

"Kneeing me in the _gutters_ was a lot of work, wasn't it?" Lucas questioned and a smirk graced his lips.

"Lucas, you don't have that much to hit—" Riley was cut off by Maya 'ooohing. "—so that means that I can't be tired because of that."

"You're bold." Lucas told her and nodded in astonishment. "I'll give you that, but don't think I'll forget this."

"Go to sleep." Riley ended the conversation then walked over and switched off the light. As she made her way back, she saw Lucas tickling Maya's sides. Riley groaned. "Ugh, will you two please stop making out over there?" She exclaimed before she wrapped herself in the sheets. Soon, two hands made their way to her sides and she couldn't help but to laugh and shriek. "Oh my gosh, stop it Lucas."

"Will you two please stop making out over there?" Maya mocked Riley.

"WILL EVERYONE JUST GO TO SLEEP?!" A voice spoke loudly from the other side of the room. All of them stopped and turned to the voice's direction. _That_ _sounded_ _like_ _Aunt_ _Topanga_ …Lucas thought to himself. A smile graced his lips as he managed to quietly stand and move towards Cory and Topanga's bed. Silence now filled the air—except for Shawn's snoring and Cory's yipping.

Maya and Riley were trying hard to stifle their laughter.

Soon, Topanga felt hands on his stomach. Before Lucas could tickle her, she gave him a warning. "I swear…if you tickle me, it will be the last time you breathe." She threatened.

 **{•••••}**

"Alright, do you have everything?" Cory asked Topanga as he helped get Auggie dressed. Topanga nodded her head. Cory smiled then pecked his wife's cheek. "Okay. I'm gonna go start the car." They drove an 8-Seat SUV, and Cory loved every bit of the vehicle. He loved the vehicle so much that he barely let Shawn drive on the way to Miami.

"Dad, can I go with you?" Auggie asked.

Cory nodded his head. "Sure. Um, Topanga, make sure you tell the kids to grab Mitchell." He told her then halted in his tracks. "Wait where are th—" He stopped talking once he found the three teenagers sprawled across Shawn's bed.

"About an hour ago, I let them sleep there. Riley complained to me that they barely got any sleep because of the hard floor." Shawn informed his best friend as he slipped on a white t-shirt.

"They're so cute!" Topanga cooed.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "For the love of God, Topanga…they're just sleeping." He laughed then shook his head amusingly. "You would be the one to find that cute."

"Quick! Where's my phone?" Topanga exclaimed before she started frantically looking for her phone. Soon, she found it on one of the brown dressers. She grabbed it then made her way to the sleeping trio. "You three can go start the car." Topanga said as she waved Cory, Shawn, and Auggie away in dismissal. "I'll get Mitchell dressed."

Shawn laughed, "Are you really taking a picture of them slee—" Cory put a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"I've learned to just let her do what she does." He said then ushered Auggie out of the door. Shawn soon followed, but nonetheless amusingly shaking his head.

Topanga tapped the camera icon on her phone then positioned herself at a perfect distance.

 **CLICK**.

Perfect.

There in that little photo showed Lucas, Riley, and Maya. The rebellious but sweet blonde, Maya, was on the far right lying face up with hair sprawled everywhere. Her blue tank was covered by the sweet brunette's arm. Riley was lying on her belly with her head turned away from the blonde. Her left leg somehow landed in between Lucas's legs. Lucas was sleeping face up as well, but his right arm was hanging off the edge of the bed. His face looked was close to the edge but not too close to where it may fall.

"Tee?" Mitchell's voice pulled Topanga away from the picture.

"Yes?" She responded.

Mitchell put on a little evil smile. "Can I wake them?" He asked.

Topanga chuckled, "Go ahead."

Mitchell walked all the way to the door then turned around before he ran full sprint to the bed. When he got close enough, he leapt into the air. "CANNON BALL!" He screamed to the top of his lungs.

His body landed on both Maya and Riley while his legs somehow hit Lucas dead in his face.

"MITCHEEEEELLLLL!"

"MITCHELL, WHYYYYY! I'M SLEEPY!"

"BLUE! I SWEAR TO GOD!"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I'm planning on releasing new chapters as quickly as possible. Hopefully, you liked this chapter…or is is better off as a One-Shot?**

 **I plan on keeping the trio JUST FRIENDS. So none of the ship wars lol.**

 **HAPPY NEW YEARS!**

 **~STORMAI**


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